1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of compositions for oil treating, generally classified in United States Patent Office Class 252, subclass 8.55 and to Chemistry of the Carbon Compounds, Sulfonation Products of aromatic mixtures, generally classified in Class 260, subclass 5.05.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of prior art patents have taught the production of petroleum sulfonates, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,183,183; 2,990,812; 3,215,628; 2,197,800; 2,815,370; 2,845,455; 2,174,508; 2,800,962; 3,173,864; 3,308,068; 3,244,622 and 3,418,239.
In the above references and in many other patented and non-patented literature references, hydrocarbon sulfonates are prepared by contacting hydrocarbons with sulfur trioxide or with sulfuric acid. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of these references has achieved the simplicity and attendant economy in the purification of the product mixtures resulting from such sulfonations which are achieved by the present invention.